Hartford: History

Connecticut Valley Draws New Settlers

Before settlers of European descent sailed to North America, the tribes of the Algonquin Federation had exploited the Connecticut River Valley's rich black soil to grow food crops. They called the area "Suckiaug," or black earth. The Algonquins also traveled the Connecticut River, establishing it early as an important trade route. When Adrien Block, a Dutchman working for the Dutch West Indies Company, became the first white man to explore the region in 1614, he found many prosperous Native American communities. In 1633, following a European epidemic that destroyed a majority of the native population, the Dutch colonists from New Amsterdam established a trading post on the river and built a fort on the site of modern-day Hartford. A few years later, English colonists seeking relief from the religiously oppressive Massachusetts Bay Colony drove the Dutch from their fort and renamed the settlement Hartford, after Hertford, England. It was the Dutch who inadvertently coined the term "Yankee," which has become synonymous with people and things native to New England. The Dutch called the invading English "Jankes" or "Johns," a term meaning robber or pirate. The Dutch pronunciation was quickly Anglicized and adopted into common usage.

The English colonists' leader, the Reverend Thomas Hooker, commissioned the writing of a document called the Fundamental Orders in 1639. The document was colonial North America's first constitution drawn up with the consent of the people it governed and served as a model for the U.S. Constitution. Hartford Colony then absorbed the town of New Haven and they shared the title of state capital until Hartford became the sole capital in 1873.

In 1662, Connecticut Governor John Winthrop traveled to England to request a royal charter from England's King Charles II. The charter, which superseded the Fundamental Orders, was so generous that James II, upon his succession to the British throne, wanted to revoke it. James sent Sir Edmond Adros to seize the charter but, according to legend, the document disappeared under mysterious circumstances and was hidden by patriots in the Charter Oak.

Industry, Innovation, Culture Shape Hartford

In the years prior to the American Revolution, Hartford changed from an agrarian to a mercantile society. Its shops bustled while its port throbbed with activity as ships laden with treasures from the Orient and Indies docked. It was this wealth of commercial activity that prompted the growth of Hartford as an insurance capital. Prosperous merchants, fearing the loss of the cargoes stored in warehouses along the river, subscribed to The Hartford Fire Insurance Company. Hartford's preeminence as a whaling town grew simultaneously.

When colonists eventually took up arms to win independence from England, Revolutionary General George Washington chose Jeremiah Wadsworth, a Hartford munitions merchant, as his chief of supplies. Following the war, the first woolen mill in New England was established in Hartford in 1788 and wove the cloth for President George Wash-ington's inaugural suit. Hartford soon entered the publishing industry, producing the first American juvenile publication in 1789 and the first cookbook in 1796. The first dental gold was used in Hartford in 1812. In 1817, the first American School for the Deaf was founded. Other Hartford "firsts" included the invention and manufacture of the revolver in 1836, of oil cloth in 1837, and of machine-made watches in 1838. The first use of nitrous oxide as an anesthetic took place in Hartford in 1844, the year the city's Wadsworth Atheneum opened as the nation's first public art museum.

A Hartford native, Harriet Beecher Stowe, wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, an anti-slavery novel published in 1852; the book helped speed the eruption of the Civil War. Prior to the war, Hartford was an important abolitionist site and a stop on the Underground Railroad, the route for escaping slaves. During the war, Hartford supplied arms to the Union Army. The city's largest industrial operation, Samuel Colt's Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company, was a pioneer in the use of interchangeable parts for mass production. Colt's theories helped lay the foundation of the modern assembly line. In 1863 the first American accident life insurance policy was issued and Hartford furthered its progress toward becoming the world's insurance capital. Author Mark Twain settled in Hartford about this time, taking advantage of the city's flourishing publishing industry. Some six million books yearly were published in Hartford before New York took over as the East Coast publishing capital in the 1890s.

Citizenry Grows, Faces New Challenges

Hartford's population in the late nineteenth century swelled with the arrival of European and Canadian immigrants and southern African Americans eager to work in its mills and factories. The country's first bicycle plant was built in Hartford in 1877. The friction clutch was invented in Hartford in 1885, followed by the first standard measuring machine, accurate to .00001 inch, developed by Hartford's Pratt and Whitney company. Other innovations conceived in Hartford brought the city and nation into the modern age: the pay telephone in 1895, the first automobile insurance policy in 1897, and the first legislation to regulate motor traffic speed in 1901. More manufacturing innovations came from the Hartford enterprises in the first decades of the twentieth century. During World War II, Hartford industry developed a production-model radar set; the city was a major military production center throughout the war.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Hartford experienced a substantial loss of population as the middle class followed the express-ways to the suburbs. Hartford's population peaked in 1950 at 177,397. As agriculture declined in the area, former farm workers, including Puerto Ricans and southern African Americans, were left in urban poverty. Ghettos developed along Hartford's old East Side. In 1968, following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the city's predominantly African American north end erupted in riots.

Hartford's city leaders responded quickly, launching massive urban renewal efforts. Constitutional Plaza, completed in 1964, includes office buildings, a hotel, a shopping mall, and research facilities. Bushnell Plaza followed, with the Hartford Civic Center opening in 1975. Older deteriorating neighborhoods began receiving attention in the 1970s and 1980s, helping attract residents back into the city. In 1981, Thirman L. Milner became the first African American mayor of Hartford and the first in any New England city. In 1987 Hartford's Carrie Saxon Perry became the first African American woman to be elected mayor of a New England city. Current Hartford mayor Eddie Perez, born in Puerto Rico, continues Hartford's tradition of diversity among government officials.

In the 1990's, Hartford experienced massive population loss and suffered from problems with crime and gangs. Since the end of that decade, however, Hartford has seen its population stabilize. Mayor Perez has dedicated himself to the continued revitalization of the Hartford area. Under his leadership, the city has developed a Neighborhood Policing Plan to augment the safety of Hartford neighborhoods. Hartford has also committed itself to improving the city's educational structure by investing $800 million into city schools during the first decade of the 2000's. Hartford's educated workforce and abundance of opportunities for development have made it an increasingly attractive setting for business, an attraction city leaders hope will help Hartford thrive in the decades to come.

Historical Information: Connecticut Historical Society, 1 Elizabeth Street, Hartford, CT 06105; telephone (860)236-5621

Hartford: Communications

Newspapers and Magazines

Hartford's daily newspaper, The Hartford Courant, established in 1764, is one of the nation's oldest continuously operating newspapers. Three other daily newspapers are printed in the region: The New Britain Herald, The Journal Inquirer, which covers the eastern suburbs, and The Valley Press, which covers the western suburbs. Special interest publications include the Inquirer, the region's largest African American community newspaper; and other publications covering management, motor transport, neurology, psychiatry, law enforcement, and Jewish affairs in Connecticut.

Television and Radio

Two independent television stations, four stations representing the major network affiliates, a public television station, and cable service provide television viewing in the area. The Hartford area is served by more than 15 radio stations. Connecticut Radio Information Service, headquartered in Wethersfield, broadcasts readings from daily newspapers and magazines for the benefit of state residents who are blind or cannot hold or turn pages.

Media Information: The Hartford Courant, 285 Broad Street, Hartford, CT 06115; telephone (860)241-6200. New Britain Herald, 1 Herald Square, New Britain, CT 06050; telephone (860)225-4601

Hartford Online

Connecticut Development Authority. Available www.ctcda.com

Hartford Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Available www.enjoyhartford.com

The Hartford Courant. Available www.ctnow.com

Hartford Historical Society. Available www.chs.org

Hartford Public Library. Available www.hartfordpl.lib.ct.us

Hartford Public Schools. Available www.hartfordschools.org

Mayor's Office, City of Hartford. Available www.hartford.gov

MetroHartford Chamber of Commerce. Available www.metrohartford.com

Selected Bibliography

Andrews, Kenneth Richmond, Nook Farm, Mark Twain's Hartford Circle (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1950)

Antonucci, Thomas and Michael Antonucci (Eds.), Hartford, CT (Historical Briefs, Inc., 1992)

Barbour, Lucius Barnes, Families of Early Hartford, Connecticut (Baltimore: Genealogical Pub., 1977)

Clemens, Samuel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (New York: Harper & Row, 1917)

Love, William DeLoss, The Colonial History of Hartford, Gathered from Original Sources by William DeLoss Love (U Chester, Conn. U: Centinel Hill Press, 1974)

Pearson, Ridley, Chain of Evidence, (Hyperion, 1997)

Hartford city (1990 pop. 139,739), state capital, Hartford co., central Conn., on the west bank of the Connecticut River; settled as Newtown 1635–36 on the site of a Dutch trading post (1633; abandoned 1654), inc. 1784. The second largest city in the state, it is a port of entry. Hartford was long world famous as an insurance center. Its insurance business began in 1794, and the area was once home to the headquarters of more than 35 insurance companies. Mergers and downsizing during the late 20th cent., however, greatly lessened the insurance industry's importance. Manufactures include precision instruments, computers, transportation equipment, firearms, and electrical equipment.

One of the earliest and strongest colonial centers, Hartford and two other towns formed (1639) the Connecticut Colony, adopting the Fundamental Orders . From 1701 to 1875 it was joint capital with New Haven. It was an important military supply depot during the American Revolution, and in 1814–15, it hosted the Hartford Convention . The Hartford Courant, founded in 1764, is one of the country's oldest newspapers.

Landmarks include the old statehouse (1796; designed by Charles Bulfinch), where the Hartford Convention met; the site of the Charter Oak ; the capitol (completed 1878; designed by Richard M. Upjohn); and the famous Travelers Insurance tower. Hartford has a noted art museum (the Wadsworth Atheneum), a symphony orchestra, and opera and ballet companies. The Connecticut state library includes the Colt collection of firearms. Other attractions are the Harriet Beecher Stowe House (1871), where Stowe lived from 1873 to 1896, and the Mark Twain House (1873–74). Noah Webster, John Fiske, and the elder J. P. Morgan were born in Hartford; the theologian Horace Bushnell, the author Charles Dudley Warner, and the poet Wallace Stevens lived there. The city's many parks include Elizabeth Park, scene of an annual rose festival, and Colt Park. Among Hartford's institutions of higher education are Trinity College, the Univ. of Hartford, Hartford College for Women, and a branch of the Univ. of Connecticut and its schools of law and social work. There is also the American School for the Deaf and the Connecticut Institute for the Blind.

Hartford: Population Profile

Metropolitan Area Residents (NECMA)

1990: 1,157,585

2000: 1,183,110

Percent change, 1990–2000: 2.2%

U.S. rank in 1980: 35th (CMSA)

U.S. rank in 1990: 35th (NECMA)

U.S. rank in 2000: 41st (NECMA)

City Residents

1980: 136,392

1990: 139,739

2000: 121,578

2003 estimate: 124,387

Percent change, 1990–2000: -13%

U.S. rank in 1980: 117th

U.S. rank in 1990: 127th

U.S. rank in 2000: 200th (State rank: 2nd)

Density: 7,025.5 people per square mile (2000)

Racial and ethnic characteristics (2000)

White: 33,705

Black or African American: 46,264

American Indian and Alaska Native: 659

Asian: 1,971

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 135

Hispanic or Latino (may be of any race): 49,260

Other: 32,230

Percent of residents born in state: 44.3% (2000)

Age characteristics (2000)

Population under 5 years old: 10,116

Population 5 to 9 years old: 10,764

Population 10 to 14 years old: 9,959

Population 15 to 19 years old: 10,341

Population 20 to 24 years old: 10,689

Population 25 to 34 years old: 18,801

Population 35 to 44 years old: 17,398

Population 45 to 54 years old: 13,342

Population 55 to 59 years old: 4,723

Population 60 to 64 years old: 3,875

Population 65 to 74 years old: 5,935

Population 75 to 84 years old: 4,015

Population 85 years and over: 1,638

Median age: 29.7 years

Births (2001)

Total number: 2,224

Deaths (2001)

Total number: 1,063 (of which, 30 were infants under the age of 1 year)

Money income (1999

Per capita income: $13,428

Median household income: $24,820

Total households: 45,036

Number of households with income of . . .

less than $10,000: 10,524

$10,000 to $14,999: 4,560

$15,000 to $24,999: 7,549

$25,000 to $34,999: 6,246

$35,000 to $49,999: 6,559

$50,000 to $74,999: 5,567

$75,000 to $99,999: 2,210

$100,000 to $149,999: 1,112

$150,000 to $199,999: 284

$200,000 or more: 425

Percent of families below poverty level: 28.2% (49.2% of which were female householder families with related children under 5 years)

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: 10,870

Hartford: Transportation

Approaching the City

Bradley International Airport, a medium-sized hub and regional facility, is located 12 miles north of downtown Hartford in Windsor Locks. The airport is the second busiest in New England and served over six million passengers in 2004. Twelve airlines serve the airport out of two terminals, one of which was recently completed. Bradley is currently in the process of completing further renovations, including the modernization of the older terminal, the addition of restaurant and retail space, and a revamped baggage system. Brainard-Hartford Airport, built in 1921 and located in the southeast corner of the city, was the nation's first municipally-owned airport. Now state-owned, the airport is used for charter, instruction, and private aircraft.

Two interstate highways serve Hartford. I-91 runs north-south (alongside the Connecticut River in Hartford) while I-84 runs northeast-southwest. Passenger train service is provided by Amtrak, which operates passenger service to major points throughout the country, and several interstate bus companies provide long-distance passenger service. The Union Station Transportation Center, a century-old brownstone structure restored to its original beauty, serves as the region's central rail and bus station.

Traveling in the City

Connecticut Transit operates more than thirty routes in and around the city and will take tourists to many Hartford area tourist attractions outside the downtown area. The Downtown Council and Business for Downtown Hartford sponsors a Park, Shop and Dine program providing the first hour of parking free at lots and garages with a minimum purchase. The Scooter Bus system reaches many major employers downtown and throughout the city. It operates every 10 to 30 minutes from early morning to early evening. Riverfront Recapture and other downtown Hartford revitalization projects have created walkways and open areas that are conducive to pedestrian traffic in the city.

Hartford

The City in Brief

Founded: 1637 (incorporated,1784)

Head Official: Mayor Eddie A. Perez (since 2001)

City Population

1980: 136,392

1990: 139,739

2000: 121,578

2003 estimate: 124,387

Percent change, 1990–2000: -13%

U.S. rank in 1980: 117th

U.S. rank in 1990: 127th

U.S. rank in 2000: 200th (State rank: 2nd)

Metropolitan Area Population (PMSA)

1990: 1,157,585

2000: 1,183,110

Percent change, 1990–2000: 2.2%

U.S. rank in 1980: 35th (NECMA)

U.S. rank in 1990: 35th (NECMA)

U.S. rank in 2000: 41st (NECMA)

Area: 18 square miles (2000)

Elevation: Ranges from sea level to 294 feet above sea level

Average Annual Temperature: 49.8° F

Average Annual Precipitation: 44.1 inches of rain; 49 inches of snow

Major Economic Sectors: Services, trade, government, manufacturing, and finance, insurance, and real estate

Unemployment Rate: 5.5% (March 2005)

Per Capita Income: $13,528 (1999)

2004 ACCRA Average House Price: $372,383

2004 ACCRA Cost of Living Index: 122.1

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: 10,870

Major Colleges and Universities: Trinity College; Hartford Seminary; University of Hartford; University of Connecticut Law School

Daily Newspaper: The Hartford Courant

Hartford: Health Care

A major health care provider for the Hartford region is Hartford Hospital, which has satellite health centers in addition to its main Hartford campus. The Hartford campus has 867 beds and 972 active staff physicians. The Institute of Living, a private psychiatric facility which was one of the first mental health facilities in the United States, is now associated with Hartford Hospital. The hospital is affiliated with the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. St. Francis Care is a 617-bed regional health care provider also affiliated with the University of Connecticut. Other area facilities include the John Dempsey Hospital/University of Connecticut Health Center, Connecticut Children's Medical Center (the only independent hospital in Connecticut exclusively serving children), and the Institute of Living, a private psychiatric facility.

Health Care Information: Hartford County Medical Association; telephone (203)699-2400. Connecticut State Dental Association; telephone (860)278-5550

Hartford: Convention Facilities

The Connecticut Expo Center is located six-tenths of a mile from downtown Hartford. Its 138,000 square feet of exhibition space allows for multiple events with on-premise show management offices, and offers more than 425 10-foot by 10-foot booths.

The Hartford Civic Center, one of New England's largest convention complexes, includes the 16,500-seat Coliseum, along with 70,000 square feet of exhibit space and nine meeting rooms. The complex also features an enclosed shopping mall, restaurants, and underground parking. It is located about 11 miles from Bradley International Airport. The Civic Center has hosted events such as the Big East Conference Women's basketball tournament, rock concerts, and family shows.

Convention Information: Greater Hartford Convention and Visitors Bureau, 31 Pratt Street, 4th Floor, Hartford, CT 06103-1592; telephone (860)728-6789; toll-free (800)446-7811

Hartford: Introduction

Hartford, Connecticut's state capital and second largest city, is known as "the insurance capital of the world." Hartford's early citizens drafted the nation's first state constitution, and later inhabitants added to the city's manufacturing prestige with many innovative products and processes. Currently, Hartford is enjoying an influx of development projects and has been recognized nationally as an attractive site for businesses. With its historic architecture and traditional cultivation of arts and culture, combined with its focus on education and economic development, Hartford has become a balanced and diverse modern city.

Hartford: Municipal Government

Hartford operates with a council-manager form of government. The nine council members and mayor are elected every two years in partisan elections. The day-to-day running of the city is left to the city manager; the council sets policy. The city, which is also the state capital, houses the state government buildings and legislature.

Head Official: Mayor Eddie A. Perez (since 2001; current term expires 2005)

Total Number of City Employees: Not reported

City Information: Mayor's Office, City of Hartford, 550 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06103; telephone (860)522-4888; fax (860)722-6606

West Hartford town (1990 pop. 60,110), Hartford co., central Conn., a suburb of Hartford ; settled c.1679, inc. 1854. Industrial production, which comprises a geographically small part of West Hartford, includes machinery, motor vehicle equipment, chemical products, and plastics. An affluent residential town, there are numerous commercial and professional offices, as well as major retail malls. It is the seat of St. Joseph College, the Univ. of Hartford, a campus of the Univ. of Connecticut, and the American School for the Deaf (1817). Of interest is Noah Webster 's birthplace and the home of Mark Twain .

Hartford, Liberia, UK, USA 1. UK (England): the Cambridgeshire town was previously known as Hereforde ‘Ford suitable for the Crossing of an Army’ from here and ford. Other towns with this name in England, however, usually mean ‘Ford frequented by Harts, or Stags’ from the Old English heorot and ford.2. USA (Connecticut): originating as a Dutch fort in 1633, the settlement was named after the Hartford in England, the birthplace of Samuel Stone, one of the leaders of the First Church of Christ when it moved here in 1636 from Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Hartford, usually ‘ford frequented by harts or stags’, OE heorot + ford: Hartford Ches. Herford [sic] 1086 (DB), Hartford late 12th cent. Hartford, East Northum. Hertford 1198.

However the following has a different origin: Hartford Cambs. Hereforde 1086 (DB). ‘Ford suitable for the passage of an army’. OE *here-ford.

Hartford State capital of Connecticut, USA, on the Connecticut River. More than 25 insurance companies have their headquarters here. Manufactures include precision instruments and electrical equipment. Pop. (2000) 121,578.

Hartford •multi-layered •beard, weird •greybeard (US graybeard) •bluebeard • Iliad • Olympiad • myriad •period •hamadryad, jeremiad, semi-retired, underwired, undesired, unexpired, uninspired •coward, Howard, underpowered, unpowered •froward •leeward, steward •gourd, Lourdes, self-assured, uncured, uninsured, unobscured, unsecured •scabbard, tabard •halberd • starboard •unremembered • tribade • cupboard •unencumbered, unnumbered •good-natured, ill-natured •Richard • pilchard • pochard • orchard •unstructured • uncultured •standard, sub-standard •unconsidered • unhindered •unordered • Stafford • Bradford •Sandford, Sanford, Stanford •Hartford, Hertford •Bedford, Redford •Telford • Wexford • Chelmsford •Clifford • Pickford • Guildford •Linford • Mitford • Hereford •Longford • Oxford • Watford •Crawford • Salford • Rutherford •haggard, laggard •niggard • unsugared • sluggard •unmeasured • uninjured • tankard •becard • bewhiskered • unconquered •drunkard